13 Rowreagh Road

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Large roughly ‘L’ shaped part two storey part single storey house, in the International modern style set near the rocky shoreline of Strangford Lough just south of Kircubbin.

The entire house is flat roofed with projecting eaves with window and door openings of various sizes now filled with PVC windows and doors. There are some small porthole windows.

The large horizontal portion of the ‘L’ shape to the south is single storey and contains the front entrance on its N facing side (near the intersection with the vertical stroke of the ‘L’).

The section to the N has recently had a storey added. Each section has projecting bays of various sizes and the entire facade is covered in rough cast render.

PVC ogee gutters and square down spouts. Garden to S and W, with tarmac driveway to E.

Historical information

This house was built for W.A.B. Illiff in 1938 to designs by Philip Bell, designs believed to have been inspired by the aesthetic of the bridge section of the liner Queen Mary. An upper storey was added to the section of the house to the north in 1993, at which time PVC windows and doors were also installed. The original owner, Mr. Illiff, later became the president of the World Bank.

References- Secondary sources
1 'RSUA Yearbook 1983' (Belfast 1983), pp. 20-23.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

International style house of 1938 by Philip Bell, to which the recent addition of an upper storey and PVC windows and doors are arguably in sympathy with the original look of the building. This house is in no way traditional, though its coastal setting strangely enhances its somewhat ‘nautical’ elements.
The design was reputedly inspired by the bridge section of the Queen Mary.